Australian Open 2022 | Not the Djokovic we know

File image of Novak Djokovic (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Exemption. The very word has a ring of elitism.

Exempt me from rules that everybody else has to follow. Left unsaid in this demand is the belief that “I’m special”.

Novak Djokovic’s adamant stance on not taking the Covid vaccine, and the Australian Open allowing him to play, is contrary to much that Djokovic stands for.

In 2020, Djokovic was among the group of players that set up the PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association). One of their objectives was to improve conditions and earnings for lower-ranked players.

“I truly believe there is a path forward that will greatly improve the lives of many players, especially the lower ranked, and have a powerful and positive impact on the sport of tennis as a whole,” Djokovic had said.

But now Djokovic’s puzzling stubbornness over a matter that concerns millions of lives, and the Australian Open crawling when he asked it to bend, has distressed several journeymen players and juniors.

India’s Aman Dahiya is among them.

The 17-year-old Dahiya had made the draw for the junior Australian Open. But organisers refused him entry since he was not vaccinated.

Then there is Djokovic, who is being granted special exemption. Djokovic may be years ahead of Dahiya as a player, perhaps the greatest of all time, but when it comes to the Coronavirus, the rules have to be the same for everyone.

“The circumstances don’t matter. The rule is if you don’t have two vaccine doses, you can’t enter. (So) Why did they allow Djokovic?” Dahiya’s coach, Jignesh Rawal, told The Times of India.

Rawal then said the words that nail the conflict in Djokovic’s image, his stated goals, and in his conduct on this occasion.

“Aman can be collateral damage, but Djokovic cannot,” Rawal said.

This is exactly the kind of exclusivity Djokovic has prided himself, directly or indirectly, of eschewing.

Among the Big Three of tennis, Roger Federer was the patrician one. Rafael Nadal was anything but. However, he was always loved by the masses. Both came from stable backgrounds. Federer came from expensive Switzerland, Nadal from scenic Spain.

Djokovic on the other hand toiled and fought out of Serbia, growing up, at least partly, in war-like conditions. This, coupled with the resentment his success has triggered among fans of the Federer-Nadal duopoly, and also among some influential officials and organisations, marked Djokovic out as a rebel, if an accidental one. He was us, up against the system, working hard for every clap.

To his credit, he still surpassed Federer and Nadal on most metrics of greatness.

At the last US Open, Djokovic even got the one thing he craved: the love of the people. But now he finds himself again in a controversy of his own making.

Djokovic has been known to follow alternative routes to health. At times his statements have bordered on gobbledygook. His choice of health experts has not always been sound either.

During a web series he hosted in 2020, Djokovic provided a platform to the founder of an herbal supplement costing $63 for two ounces (Chervin Jafarieh of Cymbiotika). In the interaction, both men spoke about emotions changing the composition of water.

“I’ve seen people and I know some people that, through that energetical (sic) transformation, through the power of prayer, through the power of gratitude, they manage to turn the most toxic food or the most polluted water into the most healing water,” Djokovic said. “Because water reacts and scientists have proven that, that molecules in the water react to our emotions, to what is being said.”

But the Coronavirus is not his personal web show. It is a contagious fever which can get fatal.

Djokovic’s bull-headedness over the vaccine is all the more surprising because he has felt the paralyzing sting of Covid himself. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, he organized a festival tennis tournament in Serbia. Afterwards, Djokovic, his wife Jelena and many others tested positive.

Once bitten has not been twice shy for Djokovic. Expect some boos to return if he makes it to Australia. And this time there would be no Federer-Nadal bias for him or his fans to blame.